Hello Mike, thanks for your welcome! I know there's plenty of demand for lighter and smaller interchangeable lens type systems, but I hope the demand for DSLRs does not drop away too much more, as we want to keep being offered a full range of choices. From what you wrote above I can safely surmise that you will not be in the market for the new D FA 85mm lens ..... ?

Hi again Philip, yes I should clarify .... the image is taken on the K7, in DNG format, and processed using the Snapseed App on the Huawei phone. As I've said in my last couple of posts I am not finding time to spend on the PC anymore, so am resorting to a mobile workflow, which is satisfying my appetite for now.

I think the comparison discussion re mobile phones / DSLRs came out of my comment that I am using the phone for convenience while I am not using my DSLR kit, although it is always going to be a compromise solution.

I keep my interest in photography alive by maintaining a proper workflow for my images, both older ones from the K7 and other digital cameras I had before that, as well as new shots from the phone. By using an Android device I can create a full and detailed file system with full sized and web sized versions of images, as well as manage a phone / Laptop / USB Drive backup plan, and save to multiple cloud services as well. So those tasks satisfy my photographic urges to an extent.

I'm not sure where that cable between his legs is going.....

Well, it's hard to know exactly how to "stay safe" frankly..... I'm still travelling in to London on 4 trains to work 4 days a week, there are four kids at home like a long holiday, and the wife's expecting in June..... So it's very much life as normal!!

This coronavirus thing has hardly changed anything for us at all, except that I'm the one who has to go to the supermarket every time.....

I guess it's because the resolution figure for phone "cameras" (as they call them) is very high now.... We see crazy numbers like 48mp regularly advertised. This seems to lead to very detailed images, at least in decent light, and when viewed on a screen.

I haven't found myself that the images hold up to much close inspection. Night shots on my phone look good initially at normal size on the phone screen, but when enlarged the jagged and pixellated effects become obvious.

The main limitation I have found, and which will always keep me wanting the DSLR again, is dynamic range.... My 1 year old phone struggles considerably with contrast, especially highlights, where the 11 year old K7 would cope with ease.

For everyday family shots out and about, with fairly even lighting, then the phone is good enough. I still edit the shots to control contrasts and bring out faces for example, and for that Google Photos or Snapseed are very good. Indoors the phone struggles more, where often bright light from outside brings contrast challenges that are impossible to surmount.

So the DSLR is still king for me, no doubt about it. Its just a pity that for me lately I have not been able to get the necessary time and focus on using the DSLR system effectively, so have resorted to a compromise solution to at least keep documenting things in my life.

Thanks for jumping in with your comments guys, and it looks like I'll have to try and climb the trees to get nearer the sun, and brighten things up for my next one! It is very dark and eerie down there in those woods.....

Stu, I've looked at quite a good number of similar images taken with the K7 and my Huawei phone, and firstly the JPEG processing is certainly better from the phone. But we're talking about software and technologies that are 10 years apart, so I think that's to be expected, and a company like Huawei has obviously been pumping huge sums into image processing development in the quest to sell more phones.

But once I look at the core IQ issues, especially resolution and clarity, there's no competition.... The K7 wins hands down. Zooming in on a phone photo reveals a mushy weird texture... Zooming in on a k7 image reveals every fine detail imaginable.

As you may have noticed, I'm still around, not gone awol to another brand (well, apart from Huawei, but that doesn't count surely!) and I've enjoyed catching up on some of the recent members photo postings, thanks.

I've not yet got back to using the K7, but I hope it will come one day again. I'm still working through the back catalogue using Snapseed on the phone, and heres one I liked taken a few years ago and given a new lease of life from its DNG storage case....

It was probably taken with the DFA 28-105mm, and a decent amount of underexposure to keep the speckled highlight hotspots under control.

If you can I would try to view it with black surrounds......

Ha ha makes a mockery of the usual stampede to upgrade when a new camera comes out!

Great silhouette technique! You seem to have found just the right amount of dark space within an unconventional layout (the high horizon) , making a lovely shot.

BTW, it's hard to imagine "social distancing" being much of a challange out there for you Don.....

My mum is in a care home south of the Gold Coast and it was heartening to get an update from them last week to say they have not had any cases, and were able to let some visitors in again.

A fascinating peek into the grotesque, and a hidden miniature landscape. Some have the feel like that painting The Scream.

Generally I find the ones on a flatter plane work best.... I have noticed myself when trying close ups of bits of logs that out of focus areas and shallow DOF effects don't seem to work well, and I feel the same here (eg the ladybird one). Not sure why, as it's a natural thing to try.